Rfid enabled tire control system and method

ABSTRACT

A tire control system for a vehicle is provided includes an RFID tag mounted to the tire and having a unique tire serial number stored within tag memory accessible to an external reader; a pass-through portal operatively entered and exited by the vehicle; one or more tire-directed antenna positioned within the portal for operatively receiving one or more one data transmissions of the unique tire serial number from the tire-based RFID tag; and one or more tire-directed RFID reader coupled to the tire-directed antennas for operably reading and storing within a tire-based database the unique tire serial number data. A vehicle-based RFID tag is mounted to the vehicle having a unique vehicle serial number stored within tag memory and transmitted to an external reader as the vehicle moves through the portal. A data processing computer is coupled to receive the portal-read unique tire serial number and vehicle serial number and conducts of the portal-read unique tire serial number data and the unique vehicle serial number data against prestored reference tire serial number data and prestored reference vehicle serial number data, respectively.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to a control system for tracking tiresand, more specifically, to a tire control system for automaticallyidentifying tires associated with a vehicle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Tire identification and control is desirable in myriad commercialapplications such as in vehicle fleet maintenance, motor sports, accesscontrol, government compliance, warehousing, tire and vehicledevelopment and testing. In such applications, satisfying the need foridentifying the tires mounted to a vehicle in an efficient, predictable,timely, and accurate manner is important. Because of the time involved,tire identification and management is known to be conducted manually bystopping the vehicle and conducting a tire inspection. Alternatively, inorder to expedite the identification process, only certain tires areinspected and identified by a sampling approach. Stopping a vehicle andmanually identifying all or some of its tires is a costly and timeintensive procedure. Therefore, there is a need to achieve a system oftire identification that can automatically identify all vehicle mountedtires in a more timely and cost effective manner than currentlyavailable manual techniques.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect of the invention a tire control system for a vehicle isprovided including one or more tire-based RFID tags mounted to the tireand having a unique tire serial number stored within tag memoryaccessible to an external reader; a pass-through portal operativelyentered and exited by the vehicle; one or more tire-directed antennapositioned within the portal for operatively receiving one or more onedata transmissions of the unique tire serial number from the tire-basedRFID tag; and one or more tire-directed RFID readers coupled to thetire-directed antennas for operably reading and storing within atire-based database the unique tire serial number data.

In another aspect of the invention, the one or more tire-directedantennas operatively receive data transmission(s)s of the unique tireserial number from the tire-based RFID tag as the vehicle moves throughthe portal. One or more vehicle-based RFID tags may be mounted to thevehicle in an additional aspect, each having a unique vehicle serialnumber stored within tag memory accessible to an external reader. One ormore vehicle-directed antennas are positioned within the portal foroperatively receiving data transmission(s) of the unique vehicle serialnumber from the vehicle-based RFID tag(s). One or more vehicle-directedRFID readers are coupled to the vehicle-directed antenna for operablyreading and storing within a vehicle-based database the unique vehicleserial number data.

Yet a further aspect of the invention is to provide data processingmeans coupled to the tire-directed reader(s) and the vehicle-directedreader(s) for operatively receiving the stored unique tire serial numberand vehicle serial number. The data processing means conductscomparisons of the stored unique tire serial number data and the storedunique vehicle serial number data against prestored reference tireserial number data and prestored reference vehicle serial number data,respectively.

The invention, in another aspect, is directed to a method of tirecontrol for a vehicle and includes positioning the vehicle within apass-through portal configured for vehicle entry and exit, the tirehaving at one or more tire-based RFID tag(s) mounted to the tire, thetire-based RFID tag(s) having a unique tire serial number stored withintag memory accessible to an external reader; and transmitting in a readsequence to one or more tire-directed reader(s) by one or more datatransmissions the unique tire serial number from the tire-based RFIDtag(s).

The method in a further aspect includes transmitting during the readsequence one or more data transmissions of a unique vehicle serialnumber from one or more vehicle-based RFID tags having the uniquevehicle serial number stored therein. The method may further includecomparing the unique tire serial number and the unique vehicle serialnumber against a prestored reference tire serial number and a referencevehicle serial numbers, respectively

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described by way of example and with reference tothe accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an RFID tag embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a tubular alternative RFID tagembodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view in partial section of a portion of a wheelmounted tire having an RFID tag mounted thereto.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of an RFID system.

FIG. 5 is plan view of the track reader system shown in FIGS. 6, 7, and8 having an above-ground antenna location.

FIG. 5A is a plan view of a multiple antenna RFID system.

FIG. 5B is a plan view of a multiple antenna wide-field wireless system.

FIG. 6 is a front schematic view of a dual antenna, wireless, tirecontrol system.

FIG. 7 is a front schematic view of a dual antenna system having anunder ground connection layout.

FIG. 8 is a front schematic view of a dual antenna system in an overheadlayout.

FIG. 9 is a plan view of the FIG. 10 layout.

FIG. 10 is a front schematic view of a dual in ground antenna layout.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a commercial truck application having areader portal incorporated therein in a wireless configuration.

DEFINITIONS

“Aspect Ratio” means the ratio of a tire's section height to its sectionwidth.

“Axial” and “axially” mean the lines or directions that are parallel tothe axis of rotation of the tire.

“Bead” or “Bead Core” means generally that part of the tire comprisingan annular tensile member, the radially inner beads are associated withholding the tire to the rim being wrapped by ply cords and shaped, withor without other reinforcement elements such as flippers, chippers,apexes or fillers, toe guards and chaffers.

“Belt Structure” or “Reinforcing Belts” means at least two annularlayers or plies of parallel cords, woven or unwoven, underlying thetread, unanchored to the bead, and having both left and right cordangles in the range from 17° to 27° with respect to the equatorial planeof the tire.

“Circumferential” means lines or directions extending along theperimeter of the surface of the annular tread perpendicular to the axialdirection.

“Carcass” means the tire structure apart from the belt structure, tread,undertread, over the plies, but including beads, if used, on anyalternative rim attachment.

“Casing” means the carcass, belt structure, beads, sidewalls and allother components of the tire excepting the tread and undertread.

“Chaffers” refers to narrow strips of material placed around the outsideof the bead to protect cord plies from the rim, distribute flexing abovethe rim.

“Cord” means one of the reinforcement strands of which the plies in thetire are comprised.

“Equatorial Plane (EP)” means the plane perpendicular to the tire's axisof rotation and passing through the center of its tread.

“Footprint” means the contact patch or area of contact of the tire treadwith a flat surface at zero speed and under normal load and pressure.

“Innerliner” means the layer or layers of elastomer or other materialthat form the inside surface of a tubeless tire and that contain theinflating fluid within the tire.

“Normal Inflation Pressure” means the specific design inflation pressureand load assigned by the appropriate standards organization for theservice condition for the tire.

“Normal Load” means the specific design inflation pressure and loadassigned by the appropriate standards organization for the servicecondition for the tire.

“Placement” means positioning a cord on a surface by means of applyingpressure to adhere the cord at the location of placement along thedesired ply path.

“Ply” means a layer of rubber-coated parallel cords.

“Radial” and “radially” mean directed toward or away from the axis ofrotation of the tire.

“Radial Ply Tire” means a belted or circumferentially restrictedpneumatic tire in which at least one ply has cords which extend frombead to bead and are laid at cord angles between 65° and 90° withrespect to the equatorial plane of the tire.

“Section Height” means the radial distance from the nominal rim diameterto the outer diameter of the tire at its equatorial plane.

“Section Width” means the maximum linear distance parallel to the axisof the tire and between the exterior of its sidewalls when and after ithas been inflated at normal pressure for 24 hours, but unloaded,excluding elevations of the sidewalls due to labeling, decoration orprotective bands.

“Shoulder” means the upper portion of sidewall just below the treadedge.

“Sidewall” means that portion of a tire between the tread and the bead.

“Tread Width” means the arc length of the tread surface in the axialdirection, that is, in a plane parallel to the axis of rotation of thetire.

“Winding” means a wrapping of a cord under tension onto a convex surfacealong a linear path.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, an RFID tag 10 is shown to include apair of coiled antenna segments 12, 14 coupled to a RFID electronicspackage 16 and mounted on a substrate 18. An alternatively configuredtag is shown in FIG. 2 having the electronics package and antennacoupling interface embedded within a protective tubular sleeve 20. Thetag 10 may be embedded into a tire 22 during manufacture or attached ina post manufacture procedure as shown in FIG. 3. The tire 22 is shown ina generic configuration having a tread region 24, a pair of sidewalls 26extending from a pair of beads 28, and an innerliner 30. The tag 10 maybe attached at a suitable location of the tire such as the sidewall orinnerliner by means of adhesive 27. Generally, the tire 22 may be of anyconstruction for any application and utilize the teachings of theinvention.

Functionally, the tag 10 includes data memory and a transmission circuitfor transmitting data from memory to an external reader. The tag may bepowered internally or, more commonly, receive RF signals from anexternal source to power the tag. The tag 10 is of a type commerciallyavailable. A unique serial number for the tire may be assigned by thetire manufacturer, tire purchaser, or, as in racing tires, by a racegoverning entity. The serial number serves as a unique identificationnumber associated with the tire in tag memory either during or aftertire manufacture. The unique serial number provides a means for trackingthe tire throughout its useful life. The unique tire serial number maybe in the format of an electronic product code (EPC) number or anotherformatted uniquely assigned number. The number, being unique to thetire, follows the tire so long as the tag 10 remains attached and thetire remains in service.

A typical RFID system is shown schematically in FIG. 4. A transponder 34such as an RFID tag 10 transmits data 46 via an antenna 36 to areceiving antenna 38 coupled to an RFID reader 40. The transponder 34 inturn may receive from an external source timing data and commands 48and/or energy 50 by which to power the functions and activities of thetransponder 34. The transponder 34 may transmit other types of data suchas tire air pressure and temperature if desired. The RFID reader 40relays data 46 through RFID middleware 42 to a data processor 44 such asa computer where the data is collected, stored, processed, anddisplayed. The reader 40 controls its own operation, and has a userconfigured application(s) running on it to control the system, readers,antennas, light gate. The computer is used to specifically initiate thereader program and host the data collection program.

The tire 22 and tag 10 may be used in sundry applications such ascommercial trucking fleets; passenger car service; or motor sports. FIG.11 shows a commercial truck application utilizing a wireless system byway of example. The invention may also be applied to motorcycleapplications wherein a motorcycle and its tires may be equipped with anidentification tag(s). For the purpose of this specification, ingeneral, a system configuration of the type useful in motor sports willbe used. However, it will be understood that the invention has utilityin other applications where tracking a tire and monitoring its identityand association with a vehicle throughout the useful life of the tire isdesired.

A typical RFID tire configured system is shown in FIGS. 5, 5A, and 5B inwhich a race track pit lane is equipped with hardware implementation ofthe subject invention. FIG. 5 shows a pair of antennas 52, 54 at readpositions on opposite respective sides of a pit exit lane. FIG. 5A showstwo pairs of antennas, 52A, 52B and 54A, 54B spaced apart within a readportal, each pair producing a read field 56A, 56B, respectively. FIG. 5Bshows a wireless configuration having a pair of elongated antennas 52,54 that produce a read field 56 of wider configuration than theconfigurations of FIGS. 5 and 5A, thus illustrating the effect ofantenna configuration on read field configuration.

Tire distribution to teams in most Motorsports events is controlled byracing entities such as British Touring Car Championship or NASCAR.There may be a specific tire for a race circuit and/or a specifiedquantity of tires that can be used during an event. The racing officialsare charged with enforcing the rules. To accomplish tire control, eachtire is assigned a serial number and the tires are tracked by a manualor computer database. Collecting tire information is currently done byscanning the tires manually by reading bar codes or scanning RFID tagsusing hand held readers. Although checks are made prior to the race andsome audits may be done during the race, these methods can check only upto 10-20% of tires actually running on the circuit. At some events,vehicles are stopped before leaving the pit lane to check tires.However, were each car stopped to check the tires, a prohibitively longqueue to the track and valuable lost track time would be lost to thedetriment of fan enjoyment.

Accordingly, the system shown schematically in various embodiments ofFIGS. 5-10 permits automatic identification of tires and full real-timevisibility over tires as the race cars leave via a pit lane. No stoppingof the vehicles for manual checks is required. Thus, no extra time isrequired and more of the allotted circuit time can be used by the teamsfor testing and qualification laps. The real-time data collection canalso provide additional information to fans and increase fan interestand race appeal.

FIG. 5, 5A, and 5B show a portal 50 defined by spaced apart elongatebarriers 46, 48. The portal 50 may be positioned along a lane between apit area and a track. So located, race cars must pass between thebarriers 46, 48 to reach the track. Positioned within the barriers areantennas 52, 54 at a height that provides optimal coupling with the tiretags of the car as the car passes through the portal. The antennas 52,54 establish a field 56 that covers the portal area that race cars 62,64 must pass through. Also positioned within one of the barriers, eitherat the entry or the exit ports or both of the portal 50, is a light gate58 that couples with a reflector 60 mounted to the opposite barrier. Thelight gate directs a beam to reflector and receives the beam back untilthe beam is broken by a car 62 leaving or entering the portal 50. Upondetecting the presence of car 62, for example as shown, as it exits theportal 50, the light gate 58 will communicate with antenna/readerapparatus that a new data collection sequence for the next car 64 may beinitiated. The light gate and reflector 58, 60 are of a commerciallyavailable type. The best location of the system is at the exit of theportal although other locations may be used.

FIG. 5A shows in plan view a multiple antenna layout within a portal 50in which multiple antennas 52A, 52B and 54A and 54 B are positioned atspaced apart intervals within the barriers 46, 48. As the vehicle 62passes through the reader portal 50, one or more tire-based RFID tags 10in each tire are read twice. One tire can be read once or multiple timesif desired in order to better ensure an accurate reading of the tiretag(s). The vehicle 62 may also be equipped with one or morevehicle-based RFID tags (not shown) and a unique vehicle identificationnumber programmed into the tag(s). The vehicle-based tags are mounted tothe vehicle so that they may be read accessed by a field establishedwithin the portal 50. Separate antennas and readers for thevehicle-based tag(s) may be mounted to the barriers 46, 48 to read suchtags or, more efficiently and preferably, the same antenna(s) andreader(s) may be used to read both vehicle and tire tags. As the vehiclepasses through the reader portal 50, the vehicle based tag(s) arepreferably, although not necessarily, read at the same time as thetire-based tags 10. Data including the unique vehicle serial number andthe unique tire serial number can thereby be accessed and readsimultaneously as the car passes through the portal 50.

The light gate 58 is integrated into the system to trigger the readerdatabase to provide data parsed by each vehicle pass. The antennas 52A,52B, 54A, 54B are placed on both sides of the portal 50 preferably atthe height of the tires that read the passing RFID tags. The distancebetween the antennas 52A, 52B and 54A, 54B is about 4 meters, a distancesufficient for the car to pass yet not so great so as to compromise readdistance and system performance.

It is generally desirable to read the tire serial numbers before thevehicles exit the pit lane, although such a preference does not precludeplacing the unit elsewhere such as at the entrance to the pit lane tofacilitate networking with trace officials inspection locations. FIG. 6illustrates a dual antenna wireless layout in which power sources 66, 68are coupled to readers 40A, 40B, respectively. The antennae generate afield 56 that couples with the tags 10 mounted to tires 22 of thevehicle. The readers 40A, 40B are placed at the pit lane exit and theunique tire serial numbers and vehicle serial numbers are capturedautomatically as the vehicle passes through the reader portal 50. Thesystem can capture the data as the vehicles move through the portal 50and does not require vehicle stoppage.

As shown in FIG. 6, a reader and one antenna combination may be deployedon each side of the portal within the barriers 46, 48. A DI0 Box 78, 80connects to the pair of light gate/reflectors 58A, 60A and 58B, 60B,respectively, and transmit data from the light gate to a respectivereader 40A and 40B. The readers further receive transmission data fromthe tires and vehicle tags of the car 64 by means of dual antennae 54.Data collected by the readers 40A, 40B are transmitted to respectiveWLAN routers 70, 72 for wireless transmission to a data processingterminal or computer 74. Computer 74 is represented in laptop form andincludes a visible display screen 76.

Reference serial numbers for a vehicle and/or its tires may be stored ina database within computer 74 and compared against the serial numbersread as the vehicle passes through portal 50. Discrepancies betweenreference and read serial numbers will indicate that the tires may notbe the tires assigned to the car. An appropriate visible alert on screen76 to a race official will then follow. The system in FIG. 6, asexplained above, uses antenna and reader combination as well as WLANrouter on each side of the portal 50 for wireless transmission ofvehicle and tire serial number data to computer 74. Such a configurationeliminates the need to pass an antenna cable in an archway above theportal or in the ground between each side of the portal. This also canimprove the performance of the system by only having one antenna ifdesired.

FIG. 7 illustrates a dual antenna, underground, connection layout thathardwires antenna 52 to a reader 40 by means of an underground cable 82extending underneath the portal 50 between barriers 46, 48. Antennae 52,54 receive data from the vehicle and/or tire tag(s) as the vehicle 62passes through the portal 50. The reader 40 is hardwired to the computer74 that conducts the data collection, processing, and comparisonsdescribed above. The wireless system of FIG. 6 eliminates routing cablebeneath a pit lane and, accordingly, renders the system moretransportable and preferable.

FIG. 8 is yet another alternatively configured system of the inventionand routes a cable 86 within an overhead conduit 84 over the portal 50.Antenna 54 is thereby wired into the reader 40 with antenna 52 and datacollected from the vehicle 62 and/or tire tag(s) is transmitted byhardwire to computer 74. While somewhat easier to install than thein-ground system of FIG. 7, the FIG. 8 system configuration stillrequires installation of the bridging structure and is, accordingly,generally less preferred than the wireless system of FIG. 6.

FIGS. 9 and 10 show still another alternative embodiment of the tirecontrol system of the invention in which both antennae 36, 38 are buriedbeneath the pit lane surface in spaced apart relationship. The antennae36, 38 receive data communication from respective sides of the vehicle62 and collect the vehicle and/or tire unique serial numbers from tags10, 92 for transmission to a common reader 40. Reader is hardwired tothe computer 74 for data transmission and processing. The field 56established by each antenna 36, 38 is directed upwardly from beneatheach side of the vehicle 62 and may provide improved coupling with thetags 10, 92. However, the configuration of FIGS. 9 and 10 requiresinstallation and therefore compromises portability, ease of use,wireless system such as FIG. 6. On the other hand, a shielded systemsuch as that of FIG. 7 may be more robust, avoiding interference fromnearby wireless networks.

The system hardware, as explained previously, is available commercially.Tire and vehicle RFID tags such as an Impinj Monza 1A integrated circuit(manufactured and sold by Hana RFID located in Twinsburg, Ohio) may beemployed. An RFID reader such as a Sirit IN 510 reader (manufactured andsold by Sirit, Inc. located in Carrolton, Tex.) may be used. Readerantennas such as Poynting Patch-A0025 antennas (manufactured and sold byPoynting Antennas (Pty) Ltd. located in Wendywood, SouthAfrica) arecommercially available. A suitable light gate switch is a RightSightPhotoswitch (manufactured and sold by Allen-Bradley Rockwell Automationlocated in Milwaukee, Wis.). Digital input and output interface may beprovided such as in a Sirit interface (manufactured and sold by Sirit,Inc. located in Carrolton, Tex.) and a wireless router such as a D-Link,DIR-635 Wireless N router (D-Link Corporation located in FountainValley, Calif.) may be used.

An RFID reader 40 can have multiple antenna ports. In the case of theSirit IN 510, there are four. This permits up to two antenna's per sideof the portal 50 using one reader. It is preferred that data becollected more effectively with the minimum number of antennas attachedto reduce the timing involved in multiplexing between antennas. Theeffectiveness is measured in the number of tag reads per pass. A minimumof one read per tire/vehicle per pass through the portal is needed suchas in the system shown in FIG. 5. However, to ensure robustness, aminimum average of two is preferred such as that should in the FIG. 5Asystem. In the case of the one reader system, a maximum of one antennaper side of the portal is preferred.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the subject invention in theembodiments described, may read both vehicle and tire tag(s) as thevehicle passes through the portal. The reading procedure permits anautomatic identification of tires and full real-time visibility as thetires are leaving the pit lane without the need to stop the vehicles andwithout the need for manual checks. The invention thus takes no extratime and conserves allotted circuit time allocated to the race team fortrack testing and qualification laps. The real-time data can also beprovided to fans for enhanced race enjoyment.

While shown in a race track application, the invention is not intendedto be so limited. The need to track tires assigned to a particularvehicle automatically reading and unique tire and/or vehicle assignedserial numbers and then comparing read serial numbers against referencevalues within a database is of use in myriad applications such ascommercial trucking and passenger automobile use.

Variations in the present invention are possible in light of thedescription of it provided herein. While certain representativeembodiments and details have been shown for the purpose of illustratingthe subject invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in this artthat various changes and modifications can be made therein withoutdeparting from the scope of the subject invention. It is, therefore, tobe understood that changes can be made in the particular embodimentsdescribed which will be within the full intended scope of the inventionas defined by the following appended claims.

1. A tire control system for a vehicle having at least one wheel unit,the wheel unit including a wheel rim and tire mounted to the wheel rim,the control system comprising: at least one tire-based RFID tag mountedto the tire and having a unique tire serial number stored within tagmemory accessible to an external reader; a pass-through portaloperatively entered and exited by the vehicle; at least onetire-directed antenna positioned within the portal for operativelyreceiving at least one data transmission of the unique tire serialnumber from the tire-based RFID tag; and at least one tire-directed RFIDreader coupled to the tire-directed antenna for operably reading andstoring within a tire-based database the unique tire serial number data.2. The tire control system of claim 1, wherein the one tire-directedantenna operatively receives data transmission of the unique tire serialnumber from the tire-based RFID tag as the vehicle moves through theportal.
 3. The tire control system of claim 1, wherein furthercomprising: a vehicle-based RFID tag mounted to the vehicle and having aunique vehicle serial number stored within tag memory accessible to anexternal reader; at least one vehicle-directed antenna positioned withinthe portal for operatively receiving data transmission of the uniquevehicle serial number from the vehicle-based RFID tag; at least onevehicle-directed RFID reader coupled to the vehicle-directed antenna foroperably reading and storing within a vehicle-based database the uniquevehicle serial number data.
 4. The tire control system of claim 3,further comprising at least one data processing means coupled to thetire-directed reader and the vehicle-directed reader for operativelyreceiving the stored unique tire serial number and vehicle serial numberand conducting comparisons of the stored unique tire serial number dataand the stored unique vehicle serial number data against prestoredreference tire serial number data and prestored reference vehicle serialnumber data, respectively.
 5. The tire control system of claim 4,wherein further comprising wireless transmission means for transmittingthe stored unique tire serial number and stored vehicle serial numberfrom the tire-directed reader and the vehicle-directed reader to thedata processing means.
 6. The tire control system of claim 4, furthercomprising communication means for operable external visiblecommunication of a result of the comparisons in real time.
 7. The tirecontrol system of claim 3, wherein the tire-directed antenna and thevehicle-directed antenna are the same.
 8. The tire control system ofclaim 7, wherein the tire-directed reader and the vehicle directedreader are the same.
 9. The tire control system of claim 3, furthercomprising a plurality of tire-directed antennas within the portal foroperatively receiving a plurality of data transmissions of the uniquetire serial number from the tire-based RFID tag as the vehicle movesthrough the portal.
 10. The tire control system of claim 9, furthercomprising a plurality of vehicle-directed antennas within the portalfor operatively receiving a plurality of data transmissions of theunique vehicle serial number from the vehicle-based RFID tag as thevehicle moves through the portal.
 11. The tire control system of claim1, further comprising a plurality of tire-directed antennas andtire-directed readers within the portal positioned for operativelyreceiving a plurality of data transmissions of the unique tire serialnumber from the tire-based RFID tag as the vehicle moves through theportal.
 12. The tire control system of claim 11, further comprising awireless transmitter connecting the plurality of tire-directed readersto a data collection network.
 13. The tire control system of claim 1,further comprising a gate mechanism for sensing movement of the vehiclewithin the portal, the gate mechanism being coupled to the tire-directedreader for operatively initiating at least one new data collectionsequence within the portal.
 14. The tire control system of claim 13,further comprising a plurality of tire-directed antennas andtire-directed readers within the portal positioned for operativelyreceiving a plurality of data transmissions of the unique tire serialnumber from the tire-based RFID tag as the vehicle moves through theportal.
 15. The tire control system of claim 14, further comprising: avehicle-based RFID tag mounted to the vehicle and having a uniquevehicle serial number stored within tag memory accessible to an externalreader; at least one vehicle-directed antenna positioned within theportal for operatively receiving data transmission of the unique vehicleserial number from the vehicle-based RFID tag; at least onevehicle-directed RFID reader coupled to the vehicle-directed antenna foroperably reading and storing within a vehicle-based database the uniquevehicle serial number data.
 16. The tire control system of claim 1,wherein the unique tire serial number is EPC based.
 17. A method of tirecontrol for a vehicle having at least one wheel unit, the wheel unitincluding a wheel rim and a tire mounted to the wheel rim, comprising:positioning the vehicle within a pass-through portal configured forvehicle entry and exit, the tire having at least one tire-based RFID tagmounted to the tire, the tire-based RFID tag having a unique tire serialnumber stored within tag memory accessible to an external reader;transmitting in a read sequence to a tire-directed reader by at leastone data transmission of the unique tire serial number from thetire-based RFID tag.
 18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:transmitting during the read sequence to a vehicle-directed reader by atleast one data transmission a unique vehicle serial number from avehicle-based RFID tag having the unique vehicle serial number storedtherein.
 19. The method of claim 18, further comprising: comparing theunique tire serial number and the unique vehicle serial number against aprestored reference tire serial number and a reference vehicle serialnumbers, respectively.
 20. The method of claim 17, further comprisingconducting a plurality of read sequences as the vehicle passes throughthe portal.